To be honest, not much, but we'll share what little we could find.
For starters, don't get confused with the Gold Key Motel in Reno, about which there is more information: We don't think the two properties were related.
As to the Las Vegas Gold Key, we can tell you that it was located at 3053 Las Vegas Blvd. South. We're not sure when it first opened, but it was definitely there in 1961, as evinced by the photograph on Roadside Pictures. We're not sure when it closed, either, although we learned from a post on thechipboard.com that it was still listed in the 1973 Las Vegas phone book, and then found a photo of the Strip in 1977, that still shows the Gold Key Motel. It was located across from the Stardust, by the Desert Inn and the Flame Restaurant, on the site of what is now Wynn/Encore.
From a "show sheet (basically, an entertainment flyer) from 1963, we can tell you that the Gold Key was still billing itself as a "brand new" 3-story motel "right in the midst of the Glam Hotels," and boasted 80 air-conditioned rooms, a glass elevator, Olympic-size heated pool, free TVs, a coffee shop, and a drugstore "for your convenience." This was, according to the advertising, "luxury at no extra cost."
As you can see from this annotated photo, one of the motel's claims to fame was being featured incidentally in a 1975 episode of "The Rockford Files," titled "Roundabout," but that's about all we've got on this one. If any reader has more insights, or personal reminiscences about this property, please send 'em in.
Gold Key sign appears courtesy of Miss Retro Modern on Flickr.
